A Werewolf's Tale
by KRP
Summary: What happens to a clan when a war they want no part in comes to them? With pressure from both sides as well as a few unexpected surprises, will the pack remain strong and do what is right or what is easy.
1. Chapter 1 Beginnings

**A/N:** I know some select people may be pissed at me for not finishing up that Xenosaga story I have up, but I don't really know what to do with it. I left so much out and its all a jumbled mess, but I don't feel up to rewriting the entire thing. At least, not yet. This thing I've had for a while now, hoping to get more chapters done then post it, but what can I say? Maybe you'll all give me inspiration to continue it, maybe not. So far, there are only five chapters anyway. We'll see how it goes, ne?

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or any relations there of.

**Chapter 1; Beginnings**

All was quiet in a small house in a small neighborhood on the outskirts of London. As a clock struck midnight, the thick silence of the house was shattered.

CRACK

Suddenly, a man appeared halfway down a hallway. He staggered down towards one end while clutching a bleeding wound on his side. There was blood on him, but not all of it was his.

'_Damn…I have to get just a bit further…'_ he thought just as there was a loud crash somewhere behind him.

"Damn!" this time, he didn't bother keeping it to his thoughts.

Reaching a display on the wall, he took down an antique Muggle shotgun. To any visitor to the house, it was a simple antique display. To the invader of his home, it meant death.

As he picked up the gun, he steadied his aim at the opposite end of the hall and waited. While the weapon was in perfect working condition, the only way to accurately hit and kill the beast was to fire at point-blank range. If he got that close to it he was as good as dead, especially with the gash in his side. Not a minute later, the beast rounded the corner and locked eyes with him.

"Come and get me, you bastard" he snarled at it.

He knew he would bleed to death before he could get help. If he could at least kill the thing that had slaughtered his wife and keep it from killing or worse, contaminating any more people, he would have done his part. Maybe the world would be safer for _her_ as well.

As he knew it would, the beast began charging down the hallway with every intent of ripping him to shreds. He waited as it got closer and closer, waiting for it to make the mistake of getting too close.

'_Come on, come on…There!'_

With a loud bang, the gun fired and slammed into its shoulder, almost completely shattering it. The beast, still moving, ended up mauling him anyways, and they both tumbled to the ground. He didn't mind. The shot from the gun was still lodged in its shoulder; it would poison and kill it in mere moments. Tomorrow, someone from the Ministry would check up on him for missing work without calling in, and they would find and protect her. At the least, she would be safe.

Right before death took him, he heard a young child's cry…

--

Pain. Pain was consuming it. During this time, there was always pain, but this was more.

This was Death.

It failed its attack. Dying was not part of the attack. Dying left a body; dying left evidence. It didn't care about the mission failure; it cared about the failure to the pack. What would they think?

It was then the beast heard the cry. The male that shot it was dead, and so was his mate. He pain was getting worse, but he heard the cry through it and recognized it; the cry of a child.

With the last of its remaining strength, the beast followed the noise to a door where it finally caught the child's scent.

Nudging the door open, it entered the child's bedroom, and approached the crib against the far wall. Peering at the baby inside, it made a decision; it would give the pack another. It leaned in closer to the crying child…

The full moon illuminated them both from the outside.

--

Michael Cullavin was sitting in his office after a restless night. He woke up too often throughout the night, and was dead tired now. It didn't help that there was very little happening in the Auror's office today.

Just as he was about to nod off on his desk, a memo flew in and landed in front of him.

'_Great,'_ he thought with disappointment. _'Just what I need right now, more bullshit.'_ He was not in a happy mood.

Picking up and unfolding the paper airplane he began to read the note…

Then he was wide awake and running for the Floo. A minute later, he fell out of his brother's fireplace across London and made his way to the front of the house. When he arrived, he found himself in the living room, other Aurors and wizards in uniforms he didn't recognize were wandering around. In the center was one of his brother's coworkers from Regulation of Dangerous Creatures. A white tarp covered a shapeless lump on the floor.

"…That John?" Mike finally asked the other man. They'd been introduced once, but he couldn't remember his name.

"No, this is Amy. John's in the back hall."

"Merlin…what happened?" the other man sighed.

"Can't be sure, but we think it was a werewolf," he said. "It almost seems too planned for one, but the wounds and damage fit. Plus, it was a full moon last night. I came to check up on them when John missed work and didn't fire call anyone in the Department."

'_Dang. Even if this guy's right and it was a werewolf, it left a bloody mess.'_ Mike thought, looking around the room. There were splatters of blood on most of the walls and floor. All three windows were shattered, and the outside door was in pieces. Even as he noticed these things, the hardened Auror was glad to have skipped breakfast that morning.

"Anyone have any idea what happened here last night?" he finally asked out loud. One of the Aurors came over to answer.

"We're not quite sure how it got in, but the thing did, most likely surprising the homeowners in this room. It attacked the wife first, practically tearing her to shreds, and then attacked the husband. He seems to have put up a damn good fight if this is the result." As he continued talking, the pair moved away from the living room, leaving the other man to be questioned by a separate Auror.

"Sometime during the fight, one of them got away from the other, and made their way to the back of the house. We're thinking it was either our intruder, temporarily knocking the man out, and searching something else out while the homeowner woke up and followed, or possibly the reverse. We found him, John that is, by a display case clutching at an antique gun. He was also a bloody mess. The wolf, or werewolf we can assume for now, was in another room off to the side. Looks like a den of some sorts."

The mention of the room slightly surprised Michael. He couldn't really remember what the back room was for, but he knew they were doing something with it and he got the feeling it was important. By this time, the pair had arrived in the back hall, and found another tarp, this one obviously covering a dead body. Several other wizards were examining the hall, a door off to the side, and an antique shotgun very carefully. The thing looked quite old.

"We don't know exactly what happened, mainly because the bodies were in strange positions. The werewolf was found in that side room with its shoulder shattered. It died from silver poisoning; another thing that points to it being a werewolf. However, John was killed by it and was found with the gun in the hall."

Mike thought about this, trying to think rationally, to keep his personal feelings back, and attempted to piece together his brother's last moments of life. He already knew about the gun loaded with a silver cartridge, both of which were also found; with John and in the wolf respectively. Assuming that it was the wolf that arrived in the back first, John would have run down to get the gun and followed the wolf into the side room and shot it, but then how did he die and his body get in the hallway? They'd both be in the room. Assuming it was John who somehow arrived in the hall first and got the gun, he'd have to have enough strength left to accurately hit he wolf, before getting mauled over by it, but would a werewolf be able to do that to him with a shattered shoulder and silver inside its body? Then if somehow the wolf had enough strength to make it into the room…for what? Nothing was destroyed or out of place. Or was there anything?

"What about the room you found the wolf in; was there anything wrong there?" he eventually asked.

"Well, there's a strange bit of blood on the floor by the far window, but that's all."

"Can I see the room?" he asked. The Auror nodded, and they entered the room. Several other wizards were around the lupine body near the far side of the room, but his attention was instantly drawn to the surrounding room. The walls were colored a light yellow color, and gave off an air of just being finished. An empty bookcase stood against a wall, and an unused closet was opened as well. He remembered his brother talking about remodeling a room, but for what? For what…?

"Hmm…wait a minute; it's a child's room!" he exclaimed, suddenly remembering his little niece. "Their daughter; where's their daughter?"

This statement alone caught the attention of every man in the room and most of them in the hall. There was complete silence until;

"Daughter? John and Amy had a daughter?" the other Auror asked, trying to confirm, and Mike became afraid.

"Yes. She can't be older than two. Are you telling me she's gone?" he suddenly demanded.

"You hadn't said anything; we would've never known she existed until we checked the family records. None of the rooms are a bedroom…unless this is it. But if so, where's the crib and clothes and such? The room's practically empty."

"Clothes are with the parents' own," Mike said absentmindedly. This was starting to look bad, and a growing sense of fear and dread was places in him. "I think this is the bedroom, minus a crib. I remember John talking of remodeling something, I guess this room for Julia. She didn't have an actual bed yet, I know that. Maybe it was moved? Maybe that blood by the window…"

"But if so," the other Auror countered. "Where's the child and crib now? Wolf's dead, no way it could have hid both before dying. What happened in this hallway?"

Mike couldn't believe it. It wasn't even passed nine am, and he had just lost his last relatives. All in one night.

'_Maybe not all,'_ a small voice countered.

'_We don't know what happened to the girl, Julia,' _but it seemed like a false hope. After all, where could she be? The Auror's had searched the house, and no small child was found.

(chapter 1: end)

**A/N:** Well, that's the intro. What do you think? Very special thanks goes out to ProtegoNox for betaing this for me. ttyl


	2. Chapter 2 Life

**A/N**: hmm...not so good on first reception. Ah, well. This chapter is much closer to how the rest of the story is going to look. Yes, there are a lot of OCs now, but canon characters (aka Order) will be coming soon.

Very special thanks to ProtegoNox for Betaing

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or any relation thereof

**Chapter 2: Life**

As the sun began to shine on the upper branches of the trees, a young girl sleeping in the roots of one of the trees shot awake with a small gasp.

"Oh, just a dream," she mumbled trying to keep her voice down. "Always the same dream." The other children never appreciated being woken up by her nightmares, even if she's the one to stay awake all night because of them on a rather regular basis.

The dream was always the same. Even when she woke up; always the same time. She could never remember what the dream was about, but she always remembered the fear.

Deciding to actually get up and do something part-way productive, she crawled out of the gap in the tree roots she slept in and stretched. She was a young ten-year-old girl, or more specifically, a ten-year-old werewolf.

This part of the forest was home to a semi-large group of werewolf outcasts trying to live through life without the prejudice of society, be it wizard or Muggle. Very few, if any in this group, were really magical. They divided themselves into a group of adults and a group of children. This way, instead of one pair being designated to raise a child, the whole group took responsibility of raising the young ones. This worked to bind them all together when all they really had was each other.

She had been with this group for as long as she could remember. They rescued her from certain death and brought her in. Back then, the Pack had been lucky to have ten people at any one time. It had grown since then and now there were never less than twenty adults at any point or time. They had found her in her wanderings all alone, and as such she didn't have a real name. She had been a small girl with a mop of brown hair and brilliant cerulean eyes. It was because of these eyes that she got her name: Cera. A couple years after this, her hair began to change color to match her name and eyes. A month after the process started, her hair had been long enough to cut off the brown parts of the strands. Her new hair color made her one of the most memorable of any of the children, or cubs as some of the adults decided to call them. It did annoy her that she had to explain what little she knew about the change in color, and also about being named after her eyes whenever she met a new Pack member.

One thing that the adults had always insisted on was that each child know how to fight or defend themselves if, or more likely when, the time came to do so. In two worlds that look at them as outcasts and monsters, this quickly became a necessity among everyone. This entitled 'classes' with the adults who knew how to teach the children all while attempting to keep their attention. They were lucky that at least some of them had taken similar classes in various martial arts before being bitten and joining the ranks of the outcasts to society. To help this training, they partially cleared a field in the forest not too far from the clearing where everyone under fifteen stayed and slept. There were still some trees left as obstacles, but much fewer. They had also set up straw 'dolls' that could be used to practice on. Generally among the children, they found 'rank' and popularity to be with whoever could fight better. The adults encouraged this by praising practice and hard work. Sometimes, if a child practiced enough on their own, they would be allowed to leave the children's clearing before fifteen and would become one of the adults early. Not many tried this hard, though. They preferred to play games and be, well, children.

Cera was heading towards that training field now. Not necessarily for the purpose of training, but for the creek located a couple meters behind it. Unlike some of the other children, she preferred taking baths in the stream every morning. As she got closer to the clearing, she picked up some slight noises thanks to her heightened sense of hearing. Growing up as a werewolf does add some physical advantages to ones self in later life. Having been bitten so young, senses such as her hearing, sight, and smell were all increased. Still, this other child's presence could be a problem. Despite being one of the oldest cubs, she didn't really get along with some of the boys. She was just too different from them; they'd been brought up in 'normal' family lifestyles, while she had always been a wolf. The girls never got up this early to use the training field, but then again she was ridiculed by them for being 'weird' as well. Slowly approaching and making as little noise as possible, she maneuvered behind one of the many trees hoping to catch sight of the field's occupant.

In the semi-darkness of the cleared area, Cera caught sight of a young boy with dark brown hair that looked almost black in the beginnings of the early morning. He was a year older than her, and probably more fit from spending more time in the training field. He wore a normal, non-restricting 'training outfit' taken from trash bins like most their other clothes. He held a wooden practice sword blade-side down in his left hand and a whittled knife in his right. He was attacking three straw dummies he'd moved to surround him in a circle and was going all out. She recognized who it was even before seeing his face and decided to stay and watch for a bit. He kept going and going, twirling around and around whacking at all three dolls equally, with what could have been incapacitating blows. Finally, after one of the dolls broke he stopped to observe exactly what he'd be paying for later, but turned sharply at the sound of applause. As he turned to face her, Cera stepped out of the shadows and into a more visible light. Catching sight of his audience, the boy looked slightly surprised, but smiled somewhat wryly.

"Following me around again, Cera?" he called out as he began putting some of the equipment away. He knew he'd have to now fix their dummy for splitting it like he had, and also put the other two back where they belonged

"Actually, I didn't know anyone was up," she called back and went to help him pick up some fallen straw. "I was just going to take a bath when I heard someone. Didn't really feel like getting jumped on today."

"You're the only one I know who would get up this early just to take a bath," he laughed at her.

"I didn't get up specifically to take a bath, Jak, I couldn't sleep" she responded, slightly irritated, before adding; "Although some of those mongrels could do with more baths now that you mention it." This got a full out laugh.

"Thanks for helping me with the clean up," Jak said as they started to fill a new bag.

"No problem. Although, you are making me late to take my bath, and the adults aren't going to be happy you broke another doll."

Jak was one of her closest friends. He had been bitten on his fourth birthday and ran away from his parents not long after. He came from a purely non-magical family who had only believed werewolves to be stories meant to keep small children from going outside at night, and they didn't take too well to their son being some fictitious monster. The Ministry of Magic had picked him up a few days later, and then the Pack managed him from there. He had come at the time when the Pack was still relatively small and made quick friends with the closest in age to him. At that time, her hair had just started to grow out blue.

The reason the two had become friends was mainly from the adults needing someone to take care of their smallest cub. That's where Jak first came in. He knew why she couldn't sleep. He had been up many nights because of her reoccurring dream, plus children seem to get along so much better when they have a secret to share.

Just as they put the scattered straw into a new bag to make the dummy, both went quiet. They each caught a new, somewhat familiar scent, and then the heavy footfalls that could only signify someone older. As they caught the scent of the forest on the newcomer, they relaxed somewhat. Only the Pack had that type of scent associated with their own.

A rustle in the underbrush drew their attention to the far side of the field, where a young man emerged. He stood quite a bit taller than them, with dirty-blond hair and bright blue eyes. If one looked closely enough, they could see an amber ring around his irises. The clothes he wore were like their own; tattered and ragged beyond normal wear. Both children relaxed completely at the sight of who was there.

"Ah, I thought I might find you two here. I must admit, though; isn't it a little _too_ early to be up and about like this?" He paused to look around the area, and his eyes fell on the bag they'd been filling. "...apparently not."

"Hoy Ray," both children greeted.

The adult who came to find them was somewhat well known among the adults, and very much so among the children. Everyone knew him as Ray, and those that didn't simply remembered how he treated them. While the Pack didn't have any official leader or 'alpha male' as their chosen name might imply, everyone who had a problem usually came to him. He was very influential that way, and was also the one who helped the children the most.

"Need something?" Jak asked him, slightly covering up the fact he'd broken _another_ training doll. He was getting somewhat good at fixing them. "You're not usually out looking for us this early either, you know."

"No, guess not" Ray responded with a slight smile, before growing more serious. "Actually I wanted to ask something of you. Now that I think about it, this works out. You two would be best for the job," he said before trailing off. For all his kindness and understanding, he loved to tease people, especially the children, whenever he talked with them.

"Well?" Jak persisted, not liking to be teased. Cera was slightly more patient, but only to watch how far her friend was going to be pushed today.

"Fine, fine. Down to business then. You know we have to get food from towns near the border of the forest right?" He waited for their nods, and then continued. "Well, I was wondering if the two of you would like to go outside and get some for our own storage. They're getting low, and this would be something for you to do. You're always complaining about being bored" he trailed off again, this time because the two cubs in front of him were no longer listening. They got a dazed look after the mention of going outside the forest.

The two children were shocked. Never had any of the adults allowed anyone still considered a cub to leave the forest. Especially unsupervised, as Ray was implying. This also got them nervous. What would happen that would cause all of the senior adults to allow Ray to even suggest this? They may all like him, but even this was slightly extreme.

"Well, I'll let you two finish up here. Come find me later on so I can tell you more specifically what you're going to be doing," Ray's voice brought them out of their sort of trance, and he turned and walked calmly back out the way he came.

"Did he just say...we get to wander the human's towns?" Cera asked, not quite sure what to believe.

"Yeah, but you do know we're still human too, right?" Jak commented, teasing her. Having grown living with werewolves for as long as she could remember, Cera sometimes viewed the rest of human society as a different race than them all together.

"But they live so differently!" she insisted. "They all live in these brick buildings, and there are hardly any trees at all!"

Jak just sighed and rolled his eyes with a small chuckle. Sometimes, her insistences were borderline eccentric. Both dropped the topic, and Jak finished putting together their new dummy, although the boy did wonder how wise it was to send Cera into a regular town with as little supervision as Ray implied.

"Alright, let's hurry and find Ray," he said with obvious excitement and began leading the way to the adults' clearing where they slept and spent most of their time. It was only at the edge of the training fields that Cera remembered something. She halted and sighed somewhat grumpily.

"Aw, man..." Jak paused and looked inquisitively at her. "At this rate, I'm never getting that bath!"

(chapter 2: end)


	3. Chapter 3 City

**Chapter 3; City**

After a quick clean-up and much grumbling about missed baths, Cera followed Jak through the forest to the adults' clearing. They had only half-listened when Ray first told them what they needed to do. The two continued on until the trees once again began to thin out. Some of the nearby adults merely glanced at them when they arrived; others were nicer and pointed them to where Ray was. After all, there was only one reason children came into their clearing.

Working their way over to an out-of-the-way area, they found Ray sitting on the tree's lowest branch that held his weight.

"Ray!" they both yelled up to him. He jumped and looked mildly surprised. Apparently, the man had managed to doze off in the tree. He shifted his balance slightly, then looked down to see who was yelling at him.

"Ah, there you two are. You're a bit earlier than I expected," he commented, before diving down off the tree straight at them. Cera felt something push her to the side, then the sound of two bodies hitting the ground. She groaned; one of them was hers.

Looking up, she saw Ray standing straight up exactly where the two kids had been standing moments before, while Jak was crouched down a few feet to the side. Ray was looking down at the two.

"Pretty good, Jak. You even managed to get Cera out of the way. Although, normally you'd like them to keep their balance so they can still move and fight if need be." After this was said, he turned to look at her, and continued; "Cera…sorry to say, but I'm beginning to see why some of the other kids jump you from time to time."

He helped her off the ground, while she looked to the ground and mumbled something incoherently.

"Alright," Ray called back again while walking in another direction. "Let's see if I can explain everything before we get to the outpost."

As they walked, Ray began explaining how they were to go into town to find some food. They were reminded that they didn't need anything that could be naturally found, grown, or caught in the forest, and also to keep there eyes open. Some townsfolk wouldn't be too happy with their presence. They were mainly to focus on things that the people were planning to throw out. They couldn't get in trouble for taking trash. Besides, those people often threw away things that were still perfectly usable. For food, they were to look at hotels, restaurants, grocery stores, market places, and anywhere else their noses may take them. Ray also hinted that they could look for things at their own discretion as well, or getting things from people that they wouldn't want taken, provided they could do so without getting caught. He also mentioned that if they asked nicely enough, the 'innocent homeless children' act could help get them a few more things. Just never go with the people, and be wary of ulterior intentions. As they talked, however, Jak pointed out a potential problem.

"Won't people start asking about Cera's hair as soon as they see her?" the boy asked. Ray turned to him, then Cera, lost in thought. Cera's unusual hair had become so common to all the forest inhabitants that he briefly forgot just how uncommon it really is.

"True…" he paused, thinking. "Normally we could say something like, maybe, it's been dyed that way, but that cuts into the poor sibling thing…"

"Well, either we dirty it up enough to make it look brown or black, or we could find something to cover it up. Keep in mind that its summer and that'll get hot, though. I think we could pull something out of the bin." Ray conceded. Cera wasn't too fond of either option.

The bin, as Ray put it, was where they put the extra clothes that were used to leave the forest from time to time. Anyone who needed something could just pluck it right out. It was by unsaid consent that anything taken from the bin was also returned to it, and if someone wanted to get something to keep, they'd have to find it in town. Cera never had to wear anything from there, and wasn't too excited to either, but something had to be done. She liked how her hair was different from the norm, but it always did pose small problems such as this one.

After walking a bit more, they came across a small outpost of sorts. This was where their Pack found clothes better suited for outside the forest. There they changed into faded, ripped jeans and slightly torn tee-shirts. As decrepit as the clothes were, they were a sight better than the ones previously worn.

After even more digging through buckets, they found a jacket which Ray chucked at Jak to wear amid protests to the heat, then came across a faded black hoodie and a beanie to hide Cera's hair.

First they tried putting all her hair up and covering it with the hat, but it looked too much like she had something sitting on her head. The task was made harder by the fact that her hair fell to just above the small of her back.

"Are you sure you won't just cut it?" Jak asked for what felt like the hundredth time that morning. "It doesn't have to be too short, and it'll just grow back anyway!"

But Cera was adamant. She may be afraid of getting caught or killed or whatever humans did to 'monsters' like them, but she wasn't about to give up the only thing she had that set her apart. Eventually they put the beanie on most of the top of her hair, then put on the hoodie, making sure that her hair was mostly hidden below the neckline. She was forced to have the hood up the whole time, and was not allowed to take it down until they were safely back in the forest.

"Alright, take this" Ray said, motioning to an empty wagon next to him, "and start filling it up. If it gets too full, come back and see me. I'll be staying right at the edge of the forest where you leave from. You can also come find me if you have any problems, or go to a different border town. Well, I guess that's it. Let's go."

The three forest residents continued along the way they were going, and the trees began to thin. Soon enough, they found themselves in a Muggle town. It was the first time in about eight years Jak had been back in 'civilization'. For what it was worth, it was Cera's first time in almost nine years, and would be the first memories of it she would have.

"Well, good luck," Ray told them, before disappearing into the shadows of the trees. The two children shared both a nervous and exited glance between them, then set off into the sleepy town.

After a glance into a nearby shop, they determined it was 8:45. Jak commented it must have been Sunday.

"What's that mean? And where are all the people? I thought they were always around here…" Cera asked, looking every which way.

"Well, they name all their days to keep track of them or something. I'm pretty sure Sunday is when everyone goes to the big white building or sleeps late. Nothing opens up till later as well," Jak said next to her. He was slightly distracted and looking for something. His explanation hadn't helped much either.

"Why would anyone name a day? There are too many of them. What big white building? Why there, anyway? Can we go see it? Where-?"

"Cera? Just…drop it," Jak muttered, still looking for something.

'_I wonder if he'll get mad if I ask what he's looking for...'_ she thought to herself. Instead of continuing to think on that, she looked wide-eyed at everything around her; sometimes turning in circles to get a better look. The excess clothes she wore were slightly troublesome, but she wasn't risking anything by adjusting them. One of her odd fears was being taken away from those she considered family, and Ray had been quite adamant on what could happen if they weren't careful on this little excursion.

After a bit of wandering, Jak pulled her down a side ally. At her questioning look, he reminded her why they were in town in the first place.

"We're not going to find any food or anything else by walking down Main Street," he commented. Cera fell silent and began to simply follow him while dragging the wagon behind her. The task of leading them around was left to Jak, as she realized her only real reason for being here was most likely to keep the older boy company. Ray knew they would help each other and work well together, but she had absolutely no knowledge about the world they were in. Who in their right minds would choose her when there were kids who had just been bitten a few months previous? The only thing she had for herself was that she would make a strong, conscious effort to help out, while most the others would whine and complain or goof off.

Soon enough, they came across a wide open space with lines all over the ground. On the far end of the lot sat a large building and Cera almost asked if this was the white building mentioned earlier, but saw it wasn't quite white. She also noticed it had a lot of lettering on different surfaces. In fact, about half of the 'letters' were a bunch of numbers or symbols.

"Hey, finally found it!" Jak exclaimed, before making his way purposely towards the odd building.

"Found what? Is this what you were looking for?" Cera couldn't help asking as she tried to keep up. "What is it, anyway? It smells kinda funny…"

"It's a supermarket," Jak said, slowing down to allow the girl and wagon to catch up. "It's where the people here buy food. The odd smell is all the different foods together."

"So, we go in there and get food?" Cera asked, hoping that for once the adult's assignments could be easy. No such luck.

"No, we'd need money if we were going to do that" he commented, then seeing her open her mouth, he quickly continued, "Pieces of paper and small metal coins that they trade for things such as food or clothing."

"Seems kinda pointless," she told him. "I mean, what can they do with paper and bits of metal? Seems like a hatchet or something would be more useful."

Jak couldn't help it; he laughed at the poor girl's naivety. It was a very good thing that she didn't have to live in a world like this for any amount of time. She'd need her own guard just to keep her out of trouble and answer all the questions.

After a while of her protests to his laughing and asking what's so funny, he finally calmed down enough to answer; "Well, no one said it has to make sense."

Letting her ponder that answer for a while, the pair moved around back behind the building and found a large truck sitting there. In the back of said truck, were many, many boxes and crates ranging from big, to bigger, to even bigger. By the smell they were giving off, Cera assumed they all held food.

"Oh, can we take that?" Cera asked, looking very excited indeed.

"I dunno…" Jak said hesitantly, but Cera was already rummaging around.

"Think we could get it to move?" she asked with her face pressed against the window to look into the main cabin.

"Ah, Cera? Let's just take one of the boxes and hurry out of here" he suggested looking around for any other people. Cera looked slightly confused as to why they were leaving so much behind, but agreed anyway. They took one of the boxes dubbed 'bigger' and loaded it into the wagon. They tested the wagon afterwards, and decided to just head back to lighten the weight as they could barely get it to move as it was.

They began to go back to the side of the building and make their way to the streets they were on before when they were stopped by an angry voice yelling behind them. Glancing back, they saw a man yelling and jogging straight towards them. Jak called to her to run, but Cera had already begun to panic and bolted. She just kept running and running, making sure to put as much distance between her and that building as possible. She had been running for at least five minutes before she stopped to catch a breath and looked around only to realize the man and building were nowhere to be seen. The only problem was, neither was Jak.

Looking around some more, she realized something else. The people who had been mysteriously missing from the town were now all crowding the streets, and most were staring at her. Anyone who deemed her worthy to notice glanced at her with a different look; some looked sympathetic or pitying, others turned to disgust. The latter was what really scared her, seeing as how she didn't know any of these people at all. She also heard a bit of muttering, but couldn't discern the words. The tones, however, were speaking volumes and seemed to vary as greatly as the different faces. It eventually became too much, and she took off running again.

She had no idea where she was headed; she just wanted to get away from the faces. It didn't seem to work. Wherever she ran they were all still there. Barreling down the road and jostling quite a few pedestrians, she eventually ran straight into someone and fell over backwards.

"Whoa, slow down there. What's the rush? Are you alright?" a man's voice asked somewhere above her. Remembering where she was, she jumped straight up, surprising the man who had been in the process of bending down to help her up.

Taking a breath to apologize, Cera instantly froze. This man's scent was much different than those around them, and something about it wasn't completely right. Looking up, she stared directly into his eyes, which were slightly covered by light brown hair that had some premature streaks of grey. At her panicked state, he met her gaze inquisitively, but showed her what she'd been looking for. Around his irises, she found a faint amber ring.

'_There's an unknown werewolf in a town that borders our forest. He doesn't smell of forests or trees at all, and has a second underlying scent that I can't quite place. And I know a lot of scents…'_ she thought to herself. He was still looking at her slightly concerned, but she was slowly backing away from him. He seemed to have noticed, though.

"Is something wrong?" he asked. "I promise, I'm not going to hurt you." For all it did, he could've remained silent.

"It's quite alright," he insisted as she took another step back. "I can help you." For all his troubles, he was only scaring her more. Ray had said not to trust people here, but this man was a werewolf too. The main thing stopping her from trusting this man was the fact that she knew many werewolves who weren't as good as those in her Pack, and this one could try to hurt her.

"Listen, it's close to the Moon," he said, being deceptively vague, but still letting her know he also knew about her. "You should probably find someplace to go, somewhere safe so that you don't hurt anyone or yourself. Is this your first? Maybe I could get you to the Ministry…" he trailed off, but had already said enough.

Cera had begun to really panic. It was almost as bad as when she was being chased by the man earlier at the 'supermarket'. This man was planning to take her away! Not only that, but he mentioned a 'Ministry'. There was only one ministry that would know about and deal with werewolves; the Ministry of Magic. That most likely made him a wizard.

Also like her previous situation, she ran. Pushing past the man, she ran and ran, not stopping even as he called out to her. She'd been running far too much that morning and even with all the endurance built up living the way they did in the forest, she was getting tired. Trying to loose the man, who she heard running after her, she turned down a nearby side ally; then down another branching off the first.

Unfortunately for her, he seemed quite comfortable with the benefits his curse granted, and continued following her long after she had left his immediate sight. Turning down yet another ally, she saw a low wall a few meters ahead blocking her route. Her slight pause was enough for the man to catch up and grab her by the arms. Twisting and turning, she struggled to break his grip. During their little tussle, the hood Cera wore fell off and the man caught sight of the bright cerulean hair visible between the edge of the beanie and the neckline of the hoodie. His brief distraction was enough for her to break out of his death grip and she tore down the dead end ally.

Thinking quickly she decided to try out a trick that was fairly common in the close trees of the forest. Jumping onto a trash bin, she jumped to the side wall of the ally and used it for a bit of leverage to push herself onto the low wall that had blocked her way. Glancing back, she saw her pursuer staring at her, then look to the bin, the side wall, then back to her. She took off along the low wall and, instead of jumping to the other side, she climbed up onto a nearby roof. The roof sloped up a bit before flattening out at the top. She climbed all the way up and looked around.

To say she was surprised at the view was an understatement. She could see things for miles around. She began looking for the forest and despaired. All she could see was a green smudge on the horizon. It was probably closer than it looked, but she wasn't looking forward to navigating the maze of streets to get there.

Suddenly, she heard a loud **CRACK** behind her and spun around. Looking around, her eyes landed on the werewolf who'd been chasing her all this time. With a small yelp, she scurried backwards and tripped over her own feet. With her back pressed against the brick rail separating her from the edge of the roof, she began to cower away from him. He looked somewhat hurt from her expression, but moved forward anyway.

"Listen, I-" he began, but was interrupted by several things happening at once.

First, Cera saw two blurs jump up from the side of the house onto the roof, then felt herself getting tackled as a short yell of pain rent the air. Looking around the body covering her, she saw the man lying opposite her against a similar brick rail clutching his side with his right hand while his left lay limp at his side, a long bloody gash cut into his forearm. A ragged man stood between them. He held a long knife in a reverse grip in his right hand, and he was crouched down as if prepared to attack. He spoke in a cold voice;

"And who the bloody hell do you think you are?"

(chapter 3; end)

AN: hmm...no one seems to like this very much...ah, well. I only have another chapter or so written out, anyway.


	4. Chapter 4 Attack

**Chapter 4; Attack**

Ray sat in a tree as he watched Jak and Cera walking into town, and briefly wondered how long until they came rushing back. He didn't like sending the little cubs off, no matter how temporary, but it was necessary. Jak was being considered for advancement, but they needed to know how he would work without anyone 'babying' him. Ray wouldn't let the kid go out alone, but the only other that anyone trusted in going out was Cera. No offence to her, but Ray severely doubted the wisdom in that.

Sure, she's a good kid and all, but she doesn't have any good fighting skills, and also a bit naive about the two worlds outside of their forest. He worried that some problem may come up, and Cera would either slow both of them down, or get caught and cause Jak to do something stupid. Even if he didn't, it was only a couple of nights until the Full Moon came, and having to find her and break her out of wherever she's being kept may take too long. Then she'd either be put to death, or taken for study.

Shaking his head to clear the morbid thoughts, Ray glanced at the wristwatch he had found and repaired a few months back.

'_Not even 9:30 yet'_ he thought. _'That's good…'_ The one thing he insisted on was to send the cubs out on this 'mission' early on a Sunday morning. Less people to get in the way, and much easier for them to do things correctly.

'_I wonder if they even realize what I did'_ he thought, looking out into the city before him. _'We never did focus on teaching them precise time, just phases of the moon, and how to tell morning, noon, and night. Maybe we should add that to the Arithmetic, Reading, and Writings lessons?'_

The thought was almost as quickly shot down, however, when he realized that would also mean scrounging up clocks and calendars so that the cubs could actually use what their learning, and therefore remember it. The problems were that any clock they found thrown out would be broken, and they'd have to find some way to fix them all, while any calendar would be a year off.

'_Ah, well,'_ Ray thought, before moving through several other topics of thought to pass time waiting. One of which was somewhat more disturbing.

Among their Pack were a few they referred to as 'Wanderers'. These werewolves were mostly the magical portion of the Pack, but a good number of Muggles as well. This is the group that either would rather attempt to make their own way around the prejudices and injustice the outside worlds provided. Very few of them actually stayed away for more than six months at a time, most not even reaching that, before wandering back into the forest. They were always welcome there to stay, but they were adamant and continued to pursue another life. They did, however, bring a great deal of news with them whenever the returned. Recently, some of the magical werewolves had returned and mentioned news that one Albus Dumbledore had been claiming that a certain 'Dark Lord' had returned to power. They also had stories about certain events that had happened in the last war with said Dark Lord, including the role of werewolves. His thoughts continued to wander for a few hours more.

Sometime after noon, he caught the scent of food making its way toward him. A bit later, the telltale combined scent of wolf and forest told him the cubs got back. Sure enough, from his height in the tree, Ray spotted Jak running as fast as he could to the border they left from, dragging the wagon with a box of food on it. Ray recognized the sign of the local supermarket on the box and almost laughed, managing to guess what had happened. As he jumped down to meet the kid, another stray thought struck him, and he frowned.

By this time, Jak reached the tree Ray was standing next to and pretty much collapsed in exhaustion. Apparently, that box was heavy. When the boy had recovered somewhat, Ray pulled him up.

"Good job, but…where's Cera?" he asked, and watched Jak freeze. The boy spun around looking up and down the street, wide-eyed and panicked.

"Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no." he repeated under his breath, as Ray got the general picture.

"Ok, ok. Calm down. First off, let's get this wagon hidden. While we're doing that, you can explain what happened and where you two lost each other." Ray said in a voice that commanded attention. This is exactly what he'd been afraid of. Jak snapped out of his mantra and began talking as fast as possible, while Ray hid the wagon and food box near the edge of the forest.

Not a minute later, Ray got the general gist of their problem, and took off back into the city with Jak at his heels. Handing the young cub a small knife, the first real weapon the boy had ever held, he told him to hide it on him somewhere, then lead them back to the last place both cubs were together. The two werewolves made their way close to the supermarket, when Ray noticed Cera's scent moving to another part where Jak's had never been. Motioning for the other boy to follow, he made his way down the crowded streets.

It was here they discovered a slight problem. Unlike the morning when the cubs had set out, there were many people around, all with different scents. Some of these scents were distracting them, others breaking the path Cera had made. In this situation, Jak became utterly useless at tracking, having never had to deal with these types of problems or this many scents at once, thus Ray led them on through the crowds with Jak in his wake.

Eventually they came to a spot where Cera's scent combined with another and changed. At first, Ray didn't quite understand, then realized someone had begun to follow her. He sped up, jousting a few pedestrians in the process while Jak began to almost full out run. The scent trail turned down an alleyway, then down more side alleys into a labyrinth of streets. Once out of sight, Ray pulled out a much longer knife than the one he handed Jak, and kept hold of it in a reverse grip, the blade pointing down instead of up. Beside him, Jak brought out the smaller knife given to him earlier that day.

Turning down another alley, Ray stopped causing Jak to almost crash into him. The second scent, the one belonging to the one following Cera had stopped. They had caught up, and the scent was only moments old, but it had literally disappeared. Not turn back, or continue on, but stopped. There was also another scent that it took Ray a moment to recognize as well.

"..Wizard" he muttered, and Jak turned sharply to him, the grip on his own knife tightening. Thinking fast, he knew Cera was always the one to run off and hide when chased by the other cubs. Her favorite spots included in the trees. Always up….

"Jak, follow her" he said, and the other boy took off. He followed her scent on top of an old dumpster, off the side wall, and onto a short wall blocking the end of the alleyway. After seeing which direction Jak turned, Ray jumped first to the opposite wall, rebounded and grabbed onto the edge of the roof that Jak was currently climbing up.

'_Heh, following little cubs around does build benefits'_ he thought to himself as they made their way up to the flat rooftop. What they saw caused both of them to freeze for a split second. Cera was there, back against a side rail cowering away from another figure, who was currently approaching her with an arm outstretched. Sensing rather than feeling Jak run forward to get to Cera, Ray jumped at the other man, catching the left arm in mid-leap with his knife while spinning in the air to catch his side with a powerful kick. The man lay sprawled across the rooftop while Ray landed in a crouch, knife still poised to strike.

"Who the bloody hell do you think you are?" Ray spoke in a low, cold voice, glaring at the man in front of him. Behind him he was aware of Jak helping up a slightly dazed and confused Cera. Luckily, she didn't look injured in any way, only winded. He then winced slightly when noticing that her hood had fallen, and knew the other man had most likely noticed her hair as well. Focusing on the man in front of him once more, he noticed a subtle movement for his pocket with his uninjured hand.

"Make one more move for that wand, and you'll find yourself with a slit throat" he growled at the man, who instantly froze, then moved his hand further away. The two cubs behind him seemed slightly scared, as they had never seen him like this before. However, no one got away with threatening anyone in his family. _No one._

"Please, I don't mean any of you any harm. I apologize if I've done something wrong" the man spoke up from his position on the ground. Ray's position remained unchanged.

"I suggest that you start talking, but remember; I'm more likely to believe her over you, so I suggest being as specific and truthful as possible." Ray told him, motioning to indicate the cubs and Cera, who had recovered enough to listen properly.

"I ran into the girl there down on the street. As I'm sure you can tell, I am a werewolf as well as all of you" Ray nodded, and he continued; "When she ran into me, I had first thought that she was simply a child running around, maybe away from a parent nearby, but then I caught the wolf's scent on her as well. I'm quite sure she knew what I was, and took the fear as she thought I was like whoever bit her and wanted to attack her. I'm guessing you also realize the full moon comes in two nights, correct?" Ray nodded again. So far, this wasn't all that informative, but Cera hadn't spoken up yet, so he let the man continue.

"I thought that she had just been bitten recently, because of the fear she showed, but wasn't quite sure what to do. I didn't want to let a werewolf go running around this town and hurt or kill someone. When she ran, I chased after her. She kept turning down alleyways and such, and I kept following her to here. That's about the time you arrived, I think." He finished somewhat uncertainly. It was then while Ray was mulling over all the information in the other werewolf's story that Cera spoke and surprised them all.

"H-how did you get up on the roof so fast?" she asked, still hiding mostly behind Jak, who still had his own knife out.

"Apparation" both men answered at the same time. While the injured man looked to the other, surprised, Ray continued.

"Its something magic folk like to do. They disappear from one place and reappear in another. Kinda risky in this situation, as you didn't really know what was on this roof, did you?" Ray asked looking to the man in front of him. "Oh, you really didn't think that we knew nothing about your kind, did you? Now if you're done with that story, how about you back up a bit, give us a name, and then explain why you're in this town. There are no werewolves here we don't know."

"My name is Remus John Lupin. I was sent here by Albus Dumbledore to talk to a group of werewolves in the area. I don't suppose that'd be you all, would it?"

"Might. Why would such a well known wizard need to send an emissary to us?"

"You probably haven't heard, but the Wizarding world is on the brink of a war. A Dark wizard has just returned from what was assumed to be his death, and he's trying to gather followers, Werewolves being high up on his list." The man, Remus, continued on, holding Ray's gaze the entire time.

'_Pretty good for someone that scuffed up, facing down someone with the threat of a knife to your throat.' _He considered. _'Think I see why they sent him…besides the obvious.'_

"I'm not exactly here to ask you to fight against him, but to not join up with him if and when someone is sent to your home. I can guarantee that any promise he makes to you will come up short, and despite the circumstances in which we met, I'd just like the chance to speak to whoever's in charge of your group to repeat all this. Its important." He finished, looking even more tired and worn. The two cubs stood in silence behind them, as Ray considered Remus' message.

"As a matter of fact," Ray spoke to him, "We have been hearing rumors of this war you're talking about. Although from what I also hear, there's a bit of controversy about how truthful these rumors are. However, from what I've also heard about the previous 'war' with this Dark Lord, as you call him, he doesn't take well to those not of magical blood. Over eighty percent of our Pack was Muggle before bitten, and those that were wizards or witches have no obligation to the Pack as a whole. It'd probably be a waist of time to come to us for 'help'."

"I realize that," Remus said, still holding the other man's gaze. "But he could find other uses for a group such as yours, and he's not above using force to get what he wants." Remus was cut slightly short by a small laugh from Ray.

"You know, Mr. Lupin, something that always amuses me is how all you magic folk think that any group that doesn't have magic is helpless against you. If this man attempts to take us by force, he's in for a good fight. As for your request to speak to our 'leader'," here he paused for a moment before continuing. "Well, we have no set leader. Its more every adult listens in and makes a choice; majority rules. You're welcome to make your little speech, but I'd suggest waiting for the Full Moon to pass. Tempers are less likely to flare at that time."

"I'd appreciate it," Remus replied while shifting somewhat. Ray tensed, but the other man still made no move for his wand.

"Good, now why-" Ray began, but stopped. He lifted his head back, and tried to catch the faint scent he'd just smelt on the winds. Sure enough, it was there. His eyes widened in slight alarm as he spoke one word; "Smoke."

Both cubs turned in the direction of the forest, and tried to catch the same scent. Remus seemed to be doing the same, but wore a more confused expression. Ray turned to the cubs and motioned them towards the forest. They nodded, and both ran back to the point where the low wall separated the alleyway.

"I'm sorry to just leave you like this, but an emergency's come up" Ray said, turning to Remus once more. "Offer still stands, see you around." And with that, he took off across the roof in the direction of the forest.

Instead of wasting precious time in the streets, Ray opted to skip it all together and jump straight for the next roof. Continuing on his set path, he glimpsed the two children running between pedestrians and drawing a bit of attention. He was glad to see that Cera had had the foresight to pull her hood back over her head, although she was having some slight trouble keeping it that way. Quickly passing ahead, he made it into the trees of the forest in record time.

Within minutes, Ray was rushing through trees instead of over roofs. He followed his nose to a relatively unused part of the forest, where he paused in the branched to observe the scene below him. A group of men, all wearing black cloaks and masks were fighting against his Pack, his Family. Spellfire rained down on the group of werewolves, only armed with more primitive weapons such as swords, bows, and spears who relied more on their speed to get around and kill the enemy through the safety of the trees. Fires blazed all around them, lighting up the impromptu arena. Gripping his knife tightly, Ray leapt down into the fight. Using the momentum of his fall, he cleaved one of the cloaked men's heads before landing and slicing another's throat. Turning once more, he cut an 'X' pattern in one's chest before driving the knife into the point where both cuts met. Pulling the knife out and slashing another one, the enemy lost four members in a matter of seconds.

There was a brief pause in the spellcasting as the cloaked men turned to look at the commotion going on in their midst, but that was enough time for the rest of the Pack to close in. The wizards now found themselves at a bit of a disadvantage in the close-quarters combat the Pack was now engaging them in, but a few well placed spells were making up for it. Ray managed to catch two more cloaked figures before being tackled in the side and thrown into another clearing somewhat cut off from the one holding the main battle.

Quickly jumping into a crouch, Ray turned to face his attacker. The man was in the regular cloak and mask garb of his friends, but his back was slightly hunched over. In his right hand, he held a wand which was now bearing down on him. The other hand held a short sword, held normally but in a relaxed grip. With his left hand, the man knocked off his mask and threw back his hood. There stood a man who looked rather unkept and ragged, dark amber rings encircling his irises.

'_So, another werewolf,'_ he thought, holding the man's gaze and readying for an attack. _'Wonder if this is one of the groups that Remus was talking about?'_

"Well, well, well; isn't this interesting?" the man questioned. "Pretty good, jumping straight into the fray to buy time for your friends out there. I admire your style." He called out in a mocking tone. Ray just shifted his weight a bit.

"You still plan to attack me, even though I have a wand trained on you, eh? I said you were alright, that doesn't mean you should be suicidal as well." He called out, tone still mocking. "In this standoff, I'm the one who has the advantage. I'd shoot you down within moments of you coming at me."

"You and I have a very different idea on what's an advantage and what isn't" Ray calmly replied.

"Oh, why don't you enlighten me? Why is my magic so much of a disadvantage?" he asked, amused.

"I always find magic to be a disadvantage. No matter what creature you are, whenever you have it, you rely on it. And that, inevitably, slows you down. I have no trouble believing I can take you down right now, even if you are a fellow werewolf." The other man lost some of his amusement, and half glared across the clearing at Ray.

"Well, why don't we test out that little theory of yours, eh?" he said, before firing three spells in rapid succession. To his own credit, there was no way a normal human that could have dodged the barrage, nor very many werewolves. Ray dodged all three and raced towards his opponent, who looked vaguely surprised and brought up his guard. The wizard was using his sword to try and protect his wand from being damaged, but Ray wasn't focusing on the wand. Soon enough, the man realized Ray was coming straight for is sword arm, and shifted his guard. Still holding his knife in his reversed grip, Ray slid to the side and brought he knife up, locking both blades above their heads.

'_Too predictable' _Ray thought, as he saw his opponent's wand coming to bear on him again. Grabbing the other man's arm, he gave it a quick twist and knock with his knee. Taking hold of the wand, having slipped from the other man's grip, Ray spun out of the blade-lock and tossed the wand away to be lost on the earthy ground. Facing his opponent once more, he blocked another series of blows and added some of his own. Finally, when the other man swung down with an excessive force, Ray brought his knife up in a brief spin as the two combatants separated.

"Well, this is turning out more interesting than I thought it would. You're good." The other man said with a smile, all mocking tones completely gone.

"So, shall we pick this up a notch?" Ray asked, shifting stances slightly.

"Gladly," he replied, tossing his sword from his left hand to his right. Both of them then charged at one another. In a flurry of sparks and blades, the two combatants twisted and turned, striking out at one another in endless series of blows. They went on and on, yet nether seemed to gain the upper hand, nor had either struck an actual blow on the other. They kept at it for another minute or so, then broke apart once more, this time panting more heavily.

"Oh, yeah. It's been a while!" the other man near shouted, definitely hyped up this time. His once pristine black robes were now torn and tattered everywhere.

"Really? I was worked up like this last week. Although that time, I was sparing against four other Pack members" Ray replied with a slight grin. His already tattered clothes needed a few new patches themselves.

They then proceeded to go at one another once more, trying to find some break in the other's defenses. Finally, Ray made a sweep too wide, and took a solid kick as punishment. He fell back on the ground a few feet, and was in the process of getting up to face his rapidly approaching opponent when a small figure came crashing through the side bushes. The small form of Jak ran at the man and took a few swipes at his legs, before dodging around to his side, then back. The other man was hard pressed to keep up with the energetic young werewolf until he caught him in a leg sweep that pushed the young cub back. Cera then ran out to his side to see if Jak was alright. The other man then began to laugh.

"Wow, how young do you begin training these little pups? Had to knock out a couple back there who didn't hold a candle to this kid, and he's younger than some of'em." By this time Ray managed to get to his feet and held a fighting stance.

"They're just cubs. Leave them out of this." He growled at the man, who looked over at him almost bored.

"Sorry, a bit late for that. Ya see, he already brought himself into this by attacking, so technically he's fair game." After that, the man lunged to where Jak and Cera still sat, but Ray beat him there. A few quick blows, somewhat hampered by Ray's need to protect the children behind him, and the man managed to get a good kick in his side, then sliced through Ray's shoulder.

"Ray!" Cera yelled in horror, seeing her protector and father-figure fall to his knee, where the other man proceeded to side-kick him a few feet to the side.

"No!" Jak yelled out. "That's a cheap blow!"

"Heh, welcome to the Jungle, kid." He laughed. "If you only fight fair, you're gonna die." Jak just growled up at him and glared. The kick he took had worn him out too much to do much else.

"I told you…to leave them…alone" Ray panted, forcing himself back up to his feet.

"Nah, don't think so" the other man shrugged, turning a predatory eye on the two cubs. "In fact, I think I'll kill one of them first." And then threw his sword where the two lay, as Ray launched forward and managed to deflect the blade so it struck only the ground. Turning around to face his opponent again, he froze as he saw a wand pointed directly at them.

"Should've snapped it when you had the chance," he said with a shake of his head. "Too late now. Well, its been fun, but this is good bye. _Avada Kedavra!_"

Time seemed to slow down for Ray as he watched the green light leave the wand. Even he knew what that curse did, and so did the cubs. Jak firmly closed his eyes and turned away, while Cera held up her arms in front of herself and screamed. Knowing that he couldn't move, or one of the cubs would get hit, yet if he stayed he would die, he did the only thing that came natural to him.

Gripping his knife even tighter in his hand, he swung it across and down to intercept the spell's path. When he did, he felt the handle burn in his hand, but didn't let go. He continued the swing, when he heard a blast go off behind him and to the right. Looking over, the spell had deflected and hit the ground a few meters off.

Shocked that a blade could have done that, Ray glanced at the knife in his hand. The blade currently glowed green like the spell, but that glow soon faded, along with the heat, into a pale, cerulean blade.

His opponent was also momentarily stunned, staring at the blade as well. He quickly recovered and fired off three quick spells in their direction, drawing Ray's attention back to the battle. Swinging three more times, all three multi-colored spells were deflected, and Ray leapt forward to attack. The man fired off two more spells, one of which ended up deflecting right back at him. Momentarily off balance, Ray closed in and brought his knife down on his wand, cutting it in half. He tried to hit him with a follow up swing, but the man leapt away. No sooner had he landed, that a red light flew from the trees, nearly hitting him.

"Who's there?" he called out, and a figure stepped out of the shadows of the trees. "You?!"

"Yes, me," Remus answered in a calm voice that held a sharp edge in it. "Give it up, Greyback. You've already lost." The other man called Greyback looked between the two men in front of him, one wielding an enchanted knife, one with their wand trained on him, before scowling.

"I may be down this time, but this ain't over by a long shot," he called out before reaching into his robes and grasping something, before disappearing in an instant, spellfire flying through the air he once occupied. Silence then reigned in the forest for a moment more.

(chapter 4; end)


End file.
